The Road Goes Ever On and On
by the-mighty-pen325
Summary: A collection of oneshots/drabbles/etc. All characters and canon pairings included. Rated T for later additions.
1. Love Knows No Seasons

Hey guys!

Before anyone starts panicking, no, I am NOT abandoning Ever Thine, Ever Mine, Ever Ours. This is going to be a collection of oneshots/drabbles/whatever else, so when I'm in the mood to write something NOT all about dear Thiri and Eomer, I won't forget it. Suggestions, requests for things about your favorite characters or pairings, or anything else that comes to mind are always welcome!

oOo

**Title: Love Knows No Seasons**

**Rating: K+**

**Pairings/Characters: Eowyn/Faramir, cause they need fluff too. Of course Eomer, Lothiriel, Gimli, Amrothos, and our favorite Hobbits will make an appearance**

oOo

**Ring**

Eowyn had once been convinced that she was in love with Aragorn, the mysterious, wise, and kind man who had blown into her life quite by accident; but now as she spins the thin golden band around her finger and sees the reflection of her grey-eyed man in its surface, she has no doubt where exactly her heart lies.

**Hero**

Faramir knows he's making a fool of himself, clambering up the tree the rescue her favorite cloak, but the smile (and kiss) she gives him when he returns it to her is well worth the teasing simpering "my hero" looks Lothiriel and Amrothos are doing behind Eowyn's back.

**Memory**

When their eyes met for the first time, it was very much like they were speaking to a friend they had only just left seconds ago.

**Box**

All her life, Eowyn had buried away her more sensitive emotions in a tiny box in her mind (weakness was not the way of a shieldmaiden) but all it took was one kiss from him and that little box was no more.

**Run**

It wasn't fair, she was going as fast as she could and he was going to catch her anyways. ("Why bother darling? My legs are twice as long as yours!" "Damn Numenorian blood!")

**Hurricane**

It was eerily quiet as Eomer processed Faramir's request; vaguely he recalled Lothiriel mentioning the deceptive eye of the storm, where you were safe, but only for a few minutes.

**Wings**

When Eowyn told Eomer, "I'm in love with Faramir," the look he gave her was as if she had suddenly sprouted wings and begun speaking Elvish. _Simultaneously_.

**Cold**

The first time he saw her he wanted to do nothing more than wrap a large blanket around her; maybe if he melted the ice on the outside, the inside would thaw out as well.

**Red**

Faramir's eyes nearly bug out of his head as Eowyn comes down the stairs in a red dress; grinning, Lothiriel elbows him, asking "Enjoying the view, Fara?"

**Drink**

Gimli slumps over on the table as Faramir stares at Eowyn in amazement. "Alright, who's next?" She asks, setting her glass down on the table with a pleased thunk.

**Midnight**

She wakes with a start as the bells ring out the twelfth hour; Faramir kisses her forehead and pulls her closer, and suddenly the nightmare doesn't seem quite as bad.

**Temptation**

As yet another noble claims her for a dance and spins her around the room, Faramir has to resist the urge to grab her and declare her his and his alone to the entire room.

**View**

"They're not so very different than we were." Eowyn muses, eyeing Eomer and Lothiriel walking behind them. Faramir protests this statement to himself; he highly doubts he will threaten Eomer with disembowelment if he were to ask to marry Lothiriel.

**Music**

Eowyn smiles softly, watching her husband play a song on the lute and Elboron bobs in time with it. This was all the music she will ever need.

**Silk**

When they are alone, he always runs his fingers through her hair, despite her blushing protests; "It's just so soft." He whispers.

**Cover**

Amrothos grins impishly as Eowyn and Faramir return from their "horseback ride"; "Nice to see the honeymoon doesn't always end, eh Faramir?"

**Promise**

"Swear to me you'll come back." She whispers. He touches his forehead to hers. "Always."

**Dream**

Of all the dreams Faramir has had in his life, this one, the one where he's married and a father, is the best; and even more amazing, _he never has to wake up from it_.

**Candle**

During the war, Eowyn was surrounded by darkness, and let it fill her soul, leaving her to think the only way to escape was to die on a battlefield. Now, she's found her light, her one little candle that's growing bigger by the hour, and she'll be damned if she ever lets it go.

**Talent**

One minute Lothiriel and Eomer are glaring daggers at each other, and the next, the Princess of Dol Amroth has _somehow_ fallen into the King of Rohan's lap. Eowyn shrugs under Faramir's bemused gaze. "It's a gift, my lord."

**Silence**

Some night, he curls onto his side of the bed and doesn't speak; Eowyn just wraps her arms around him and silently thinks _I'll never leave you_ and hopes somehow he hears her.

**Journey**

When she first rode to Gondor, the journey couldn't go by quick enough. For some reason, the fact that she's now going back to _marry_ him seems to make time go slower.

**Fire**

The first time they kiss, really kiss, the bottom of her stomach drops when she sees the thinly guarded emotion burning in his eyes.

**Strength**

Eowyn stands, back straight, glaring at the extremely foolish advisors who dared to insinuate Lothiriel was not _fit_ to marry Eomer (Faramir knows all the strength of Middle Earth is inside his wife, and those advisors stand no chance)

**Mask**

The first time they spoke, Eowyn hid herself behind a mask of indifference and grief; she'll never understand just how Faramir managed to rid her of it so quickly.

**Ice**

He winces as something cold and wet collides with his head. _What in the…?_ His wife grins at him, snowball in hand. "You know, for a former Captain of Gondor, you really can be oblivious."

**Fall**

Eowyn's lips quirk up in a tiny, almost unnoticeable, smile and Faramir can practically _feel_ himself falling in love with her.

**Forgotten**

The second children, the younger siblings of two extraordinary men, both too young to remember their mothers when they died. Oh yes, Eowyn and Faramir know all about being forgotten.

**Dance**

She hates dancing (especially in Gondorian fashion), but when Faramir leans down and whispers, "Climb on to my feet, my lady, and let me do the footwork," how can she refuse?

**Body**

Eowyn laughs to herself as Faramir's eyes run over her when he thinks she's not looking. Later, when they're alone in their room, between kisses she'll say, "I'm afraid you're not very subtle, my love."

**Sacred**

Faramir never thought himself a particularly religious man, but when Eowyn appeared at the end of the aisle on their wedding day, Faramir was thanking gods from religions that he didn't even know about.

**Farewells**

Merry elbowed Pippin as the latter craned around the column to get a glimpse of Faramir bidding farewell to Eowyn; "It's not polite to stare, Pip."

**World**

He realized with a jolt, how painfully small his world had been, limited to charts and maps, fights and a brother's shadow, reading books and wanting a father's love. He'd take Eowyn as his world over the old one any day.

**Formal**

If there was one thing that Eowyn hated about Minas Tirith it was the too-stiff-and-formal clothes; however, Faramir always managed to look extremely dashing in them, so Eowyn found no reason to complain.

**Fever**

When he gets sick and dreams of the much darker times of days past, she always stays by his side, soothing his scorching forehead with her cool hands.

**Laugh**

Lothiriel knew something was going on between her cousin and the White Lady of Rohan; Faramir hadn't laughed this much since she was very small.

**Lies**

Faced with options of an angry Eowyn and a furious Lothiriel (not to mention a surely homicidal Eomer), Faramir shakes his head. "I had no idea they fancied each other, cousins. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

**Forever**

Looking down at their son's face, Faramir finally understood the saying that children bring immortality.

**Overwhelmed**

Eowyn's face is bright red as Faramir cautiously slides the garter off of her leg; Lothiriel is howling with laughter until Eowyn glares at her and reminds her, "You're next."

**Whisper**

The first time he tells her he loves her he whispers; something inside of him fears if he were to speak too loudly she'll shy away. ("I love you too, you silly man." She whispers back.)

**Wait**

The kisses are like fire, and Eowyn is vaguely aware that she has been backed up against a wall, and her hands (treacherous, _evil_ hands) are snaking up the back of his shirt to touch his bare back when Faramir breaks away. ("It's one more day, my sweet. We must wait.")

**Talk**

When they talk, they never seem to run out of things to say, something Eowyn is grateful for and Faramir is amazed by; they had never really enjoyed just _talking_ before.

**Search**

"Ada, you have to find it!" Their daughter wails, and Faramir curses the day Eomer and Lothiriel presented his youngest with the blanket; somehow, it always manages to disappear.

**Hope**

Arwen, Eowyn, and Lothiriel are all laughing as their husbands come back from meetings; confused, Aragorn asks what is so funny. "Oh, we only hope that our sons are better at courting girls than you three were." Lothiriel giggles, gesturing to all three women's swollen bellies.

**Eclipse**

"Is the change in them not remarkable?" Imrahil asks Gandalf, watching his nephew (who looks younger than he has in years), spin his beautiful (and rather relaxed bride) around the dance floor.

**Gravity**

One day, when Eowyn is feeling horrid and miserable (thanks to a certain few shrewish ladies of Minas Tirith), Faramir captures her face between his hands and (between kisses), tells her, "You are my anchor, Eowyn. Without you, I would be a lesser man."

**Highway**

The road from Minas Tirth to Edoras gets more traffic than it has in the past hundred years, all thanks to two pregnant wives who only want food that is grown in the other city.

**Unknown**

Faramir watches Eowyn sleep, and wonders to himself; "If Boromir had lived, would it be him sitting here instead of me?" But then Eowyn rolls over and looks at him, and all of his morbid thoughts disappear. ("Come back to bed, love, it's lonely without you.")

**Lock**

After he returns after a particularly long trip to Minas Tirith, Eowyn sits on their bed, and laughingly tells him, "Bring on the shackles, my lord, I'm your prisoner." Needless to say, their door remained locked that night.

**Breathe**

Faramir would be content just to sit and watch her breathe for the rest of his life. ("Would you stop staring at me like that? I am not a painting!" He chuckled at that. "You're right. You're far better.")


	2. Crotchety Old Bachelors

**Title: Crotchety Old Bachelors**

**Rating: K**

**Pairings/Characters: Merry and Pippin friendship, with mentions of Sam/Rosie, Aragorn/Arwen, Eowyn/Faramir, and Eomer/Lothiriel**

**Enjoy!**

oOo

Pippin sighed happily as he puffed a ring of smoke out of his mouth, sitting by a trickling stream. _This_, leaning against a tree, a pipe in one hand and a mug of ale in the other, was the life. Not fighting Orcs, not climbing freezing mountains or crawling through dark mines, and certainly not going without second-breakfasts (he would never understand how his non-Hobbit friends survived without it). Pippin's peaceful moment was ruined by the tromping of feet reaching his ears. Merry, his cousin and dearest friend came into view, grinning wildly.

"Pippin, he did it! He finally did it!"

Pippin raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Who did what, Merry?"

Merry shook his head, still grinning triumphantly.

"Go on, have a guess."

Pippin thought for a moment.

"Don't tell me Fatty Bolger's finally eaten himself to death—"

"No, but he's close. Guess again." Merry interrupted.

"You finally got Gimli to give you your pipeweed?"

"No."

"Eomer's murdered Legolas?"

"No."

Pippin sighed, the relaxing effects of his pipe and ale dissipating.

"Merry, just bloody tell me already."

"Sam asked Rosie to marry him."

Merry flinched back, laughing, as Pippin spewed the last sip of ale he had taken out of his mouth.

"Sam did _**what**_?"

"Aye, right in front of the whole tavern too! Just dropped to one knee and asked her! She said yes, of course, and then covered him in kisses. I've never seen Sam turn so red in my whole life; I thought he would surely faint." Merry chuckled. Pippin's face was frozen. Merry looked at him strangely; it was not like him to be so unmoved by such good news. "Alright Pip, what's troubling you?"

Pippin forced a smile.

"Nothing! Hooray, congratulations, and all that." He said, voice obviously unenthusiastic.

"Just spit it out, Pippin." Merry said. Pippin sighed and set his pipe across his mug.

"Marriage." Pippin said the word like a curse, earning an alarmed look from Merry.

"What's wrong with marriage? You said yourself, just last week, that you couldn't _wait_ to find the right girl to marry." Merry said. Pippin jumped to his feet and began to pace, clearly agitated.

"First it was Aragorn and Arwen, which we all knew was going to happen from the beginning, then Eowyn and Faramir, which wasn't expected but still rather lovely, since no two people deserve their happiness more than them, then Eomer and Lothiriel, which was so obvious that it makes you embarrassed to be in the same room with them when they're having a romantic moment, and now, Sam and Rosie. Merry, why is everyone getting _married_?"

Merry stared at his friend for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. Pippin glared at him as he rolled about on the ground, holding his sides. Finally, the laughter subsided and Merry sat up.

"You're complaining about our friends' happiness? Did you not eat your second breakfast this morning, Pippin?"

Pippin scowled at him.

"It's not funny, Merry! What if we," his voice dropped to a whisper, "never marry? What if we become crotchety, old, bachelors who live alone at the end of the lanes, yelling at children and kicking dogs? What if," Pippin's voice went even softer, "we become Bilbo?"

Merry began to laugh again (he agreed that he did not **ever** want to become like Bilbo), but stopped short.

In truth, he had pictured himself married by his age, married and settled, in Buckland, with a pretty wife and a few children. He looked back into Pippin's worried face. This was his best friend; the one who had saved him on the fields of Pelennor, whom he had fought and laughed with so many times he had lost count, who had journeyed with through Moria, mountains, and the Gates of Mordor itself. Pippin looked back up at him when Merry thumped him on the back.

"If you do end up a crotchety old bachelor, Pip, I'll be there to keep you company. Though I won't be kicking any dogs." Merry said. Pippin's face lit up.

"You promise?"

"'Course I do. Though, I don't think you have much to worry about, Diamond of Long Cleeve's been pining over you for weeks now…"

Pippin's grin got even wider.

"Has she really? Well, I knew she couldn't resist my charms and boyish good looks forever…"

Merry laughed and slung an arm around Pippin's shoulders.

"Let's go congratulate Sam, ladies' man, before your head gets any bigger and I have to drag you by the arm into town."

Pippin laughed, and chattered happily all the way back.

_Hopefully he'll still want to be my best man when I marry Estella…perhaps I should've told him that I plan to propose soon…_

"Oi!" Pippin called, interrupting Merry's thoughts. The young Took was half way into the tavern. "Are you coming, slowpoke?"

Merry laughed and followed his friend inside.

"I'm right behind you."

_And I always will be._

oOo

**Author's Note:** Pippin, despite his fears, did not become a "crotchety old bachelor." Instead, he married Diamond of Long Cleeve, and they had at least one son (whose name was never given), if not more children. Merry married Estella Bolger (sister of Fatty) and had one son, Faramir. Sam and Rosie (in the more typical Hobbit fashion) had thirteen children: Elanor (the Fair), Frodo, Rose, Merry, Pippin, Goldilocks, Hamfast, Daisy, Primrose, Bilbo, Ruby, Robin, and Tolman (Tom).

Pippin's son Faramir (named of course for Pippin's dear friend the Steward) married Sam's daughter Goldilocks.

Gotta love them Hobbits!

Reviews, comments, and anything else would be wonderful :)


	3. Ties That Bind

**Title: Ties That Bind**

**Rating: K+ (for slight cursing)**

**Characters: Amrothos POV, mentions of most other characters**

**Reviews are loved!**

oOo

_To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. _

~Clara Ortega

oOo

Look, I know I must come off a little…over-protective at times.

Alright, perhaps VERY over-protective.

But can you blame me?

My sister, my baby sister (oh, alright, she's only three years younger than me), has gone off and fallen in love.

In **love**!

With a King, no less, a warrior King who's got hair almost as long as hers and a scowl that could cause Sauron himself to cringe.

Hmm, perhaps we should've sent Eomer to Mordor years ago and the War would've ended sooner…

But that's beside the point.

The point is…my sister, little, precocious, stubborn Thiri is going to get _married_.

MARRIED!

I've been so horrified in all my life.

No, Eomer's not a bad man.

No, I don't hate him (I actually rather like him; he has a good sense of humor and is proving to be a damn good King)

No, I don't plan on brutally murdering him (though I admit I may have thought about it when I caught them kissing on the balcony; Thiri and I's balcony! The one where we used to dump buckets of sand onto Elphir's head from!)

But the thought of my sister, sweet, innocent, Lothiriel being someone's wife…

It's enough to make me throw up.

Yes, I know she's grown up now (as she constantly reminds me)

Yes, I know she could do far worse (just ask her about the stable boy incident when she was fifteen)

Yes, I know he'll make her happy ("Already does." Elphir said, smirking at me like the smug ass that he is)

But…

She's my sister.

I've been protecting her and watching out for her all our lives.

Granted, we've had our share of spats; once, she took Erchirion's heaviest book and beat me about the head with it for telling her boys were better than girls; I locked her in a closet one day and didn't tell anyone where she was for at least six hours.

But I love her. And she loves me. And we were always, _always_, a team against Erchirion and Elphir. Well, mostly Elphir, because Erchirion was never fun to tease, he'd just smile at us and say "If it makes you happy, continue to torture me." So, we'd feel guilty and go bother Elphir some more.

Now Elphir, he was fun to mess with.

If we touched one paper on his desk, jumped on his bed one time, or even creaked the door open while he was reading, he would blow up.

"**How many times have I told you to stay out of my room?**" He would yell. Sometimes, if we really irritated him, he'd chase us down the hallway and threaten to throw us from the highest tower, or have Boromir run us threw when he came back from Ithilien. Me, he beat up a few times.

But Lothiriel?

She had us all wrapped around her little finger and she knew it. She could push Elphir into the coldest sea water imaginable; if he started to yell, she would get the saddest look on her face and he would stop almost instantly and hug her instead. Even Boromir and Faramir were helpless when it came to her; if she yawned the tiniest bit, Boromir would just pick her up and carry her about the Citadel. Faramir would read to her for _hours_, from any book she wanted, even if he'd read it a thousand times before.

She was always different from the other girls we knew; bolder, more stubborn, always ready to speak her mind. But sweet too; if someone, anyone, was in trouble, she'd help.

Not that she didn't have her flaws, mind you. She has a temper (we all do) and if you set her off, one should avoid dark corners for a few days. She's quick to speaking and quick to hurt; not that she'll ever tell you, but if you hurt her, she'll let it bother her for days, weeks even.

But we all loved her and guarded her and taught her and watched her grow.

I suppose that's partially why I don't want her to get married; when she's married, she won't just be our Thiri anymore.

She'll be _his_ Thiri, his wife, his Queen.

She won't even be Gondorian royalty anymore; she'll be a Rohirric Queen instead.

I know she's furious about how I reacted to Father telling us about their engagement; Elphir thinks it's because I reacted badly (and I did, I won't try to deny that) but I know the real reason.

She wants my approval.

She wants me to be okay with the fact that she is marrying Eomer, son of Eomund, former Third Marshall of the Mark and current King of Rohan.

She knows as well as I do that we were always the closest (though she loves Erchirion and Elphir just the same), and that's why she wants me to like him.

And I do.

Against all odds, against all my ingrained thoughts about men and my sister, I do like Eomer.

Why?

He's completely moony over her. All you have to do is say her name and it's like he's a different person. Something with his eyes; they "light up" as Artanis so poetically put it, his face softens, and he looks less like a veteran of the Ring War and more like a loves-truck youth. Which, I suppose on some level, he is.

More importantly, he'll protect her. That's clear in his face too; if ever there were trouble, I have no doubt he would lay down his life to save hers.

In that way, we're more similar than he knows.

Will I ever tell Lothiriel this?

Let me put it this way; there's more of a chance that I'm a virgin than that happening.

And let me assure you, that, I am not.

The point of my story, of all of this lovely rambling, is that I love my sister. And I'm happy for her. So happy that she's finally found a man, a good man, that loves her for how she is, and won't try to make her into something she's not; a simple housewife, a boring noble woman who paints on a mask of happy indifference every morning.

So I'll bite my tongue.

And give my blessing (despite Faramir and Elphir telling me how little it's needed)

And I'll go to the wedding. Watch her walk down the aisle with our father.

I'll probably drink a good bit of ale. And become friendly with the local girls.

But you can bet I'll be there when she starts to doubt herself, as all brides do on their wedding day, and tell her just how beautiful she is.

How strong.

How smart.

And how much her annoying brother loves her.

Because that's what brothers are made for.

To love their sisters.

And perhaps cause a bit a mischief on their wedding night.


End file.
